FARMINGTON—This weekend brought not only the warm weather that's associated with spring, it brought the Brooks family a brand new home, with the help of the Southeast New Hampshire Habitat for Humanity.

“This house is perfect for Kristi and Justin Brooks,” said Marcie Bergan, executive director for Southeast Habitat for Humanity. “Today we'll be formally welcoming them into their new home. Someone does a blessing on the house, and we thank the volunteers for making this happen. From the fundraising, right up until putting the roof on, our volunteers are the biggest part of these projects every step of the way.”

The Southeast Habitat for Humanity started the house in 2011, and was simultaneously building other projects on Silver Street in Rochester. Partner families are the ones that move into the houses, and they help build their own house. If they are unable to help build their own house, they help build the next one in a pay-it-forward type of program. Partner families have to complete 250 volunteer hours and learn a lot about home owning during them. In turn they get a 30-year mortgage interest free, with taxes and insurance included.

“If someone has something that is lingering on their credit; be it medical bills, or something else that is haunting them, we don't just turn them away,” explained Bergan. “We work with them over the course of a year, which is about as long as it takes to build these houses from top to bottom, making sure they have credit counselling and financial stability.”

The mortgages the families pay goes back into making other houses, so it keeps the program continuously flowing. Habitat's fiscal year goes from July 1 to June 30, and this is the third home dedication for them this fiscal year.

“It was hard for Kristi and I,” explained Justin Brooks. “Kristi mentioned we should buy a house, but we just couldn't afford it. Her dad tipped us off to Habitat from talking to someone at their church, so we figured it was worth a shot. After we filled out all the paperwork they told us we would be a great candidate for this home. We went to a few interviews with the board, and next thing you know we're getting a call saying that we got the house. Needless to say we didn't really sleep much that night”.

“Just believe, work hard, and give us a call,” stated Bergan. “The Brooks family believed, and after a little bit of hard work, they're finally in a wonderful home. Our restore in Newington next to the Mall at Fox Run has a lot of donated items for families, and some of them even go into our homes that we build. It's open to the public so feel free to stop by. At Habitat for Humanity, we really believe in partnering with other organizations to help these families out. There's so many resources in New Hampshire, so please don't be afraid to reach out. We'd love to help out in any way we can.”

“It's so hard to believe; now we have a house cheaper than what we were paying for rent,” said Brooks. “On top of all that, it's the most energy efficient house that they've ever built, so our utilities will be more than affordable. It's so great to be in a place to call home, and know that we don't have to move around constantly anymore. We're very happy here.”

Visit senhhabitat.org, or call (603) 433-9555 for more information on resources, volunteering, or donations. Southeast New Hampshire Habitat for Humanity has an office at 33 Pleasant St., in Portsmouth.